Women

No. 2 South Carolina 78, No. 18 Kentucky 68

South Carolina got some great play from Alaina Coates to outlast Kentucky, then some even better news about injured star Tiffany Mitchell heading to Monday night's showdown with No. 1 Connecticut.

Coates had 27 points and 13 rebounds in the Gamecocks' victory over the Wildcats on Thursday night, a performance South Carolina (22-0, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) desperately needed with Mitchell sitting out the final two quarters after crashing hard to the floor and bruising her lower back.

But Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said Mitchell could've played against Kentucky and will be ready for the three-time defending NCAA champs on Monday.

Staley said the frightening looking fall was not so serious and she chose not to put Mitchell back in after the two-time SEC player of the year returned to the bench.

"Tiffany could probably use the rest," Staley said.

With Mitchell out, it was up to post players Coates and A'ja Wilson to carry the load.

"We knew we had to fill that gap," said Wilson, who finished with 18 points.

Coates scored 12 points in the final nine minutes, including a three-point play with 2:20 left to put South Carolina ahead 71-66 after Kentucky cut an 11-point lead to 68-66.

Coates had her fourth double-double in the past five games to beat the Wildcats (15-6, 4-6) with Mitchell watching from the bench.

She spent several minutes face down in obvious pain before being helped off the court. She returned to the bench in the third quarter with what the team said was a lower back bruise.

Makayla Epps scored 17 points, all in the second half, for Kentucky, which had lost four of five games.

"This was a tough loss on the road, a tough game," Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said. "But I think we benefited from it."

As time ran out, fans began to chant "We want UConn." Be careful, what you wish for. The three-time defending NCAA champions ended South Carolina's 22-0 start and reign at No. 1 a year ago in blowout fashion, 87-62. The Huskies, behind Breanna Stewart, look even stronger this season.

Staley said her team will be ready to play. "Whether they'll be ready to do all the things necessary to beat the tradition of UConn, we'll see," she said.

The Gamecocks won their 45th straight home game.

South Carolina entered trying to stay perfect for a second straight year heading to its showdown against three-time defending NCAA champion No. 1 Connecticut here Monday night.

The Gamecocks played without injured senior starter Asia Dozier, who injured her right hand in beating Texas A&M last Sunday night.

Still, South Carolina pushed past Kentucky with a 15-9 burst to close the second quarter and take a 35-30 lead into the break.

Epps, the SEC's second leading scorer, was held without a point in the opening two quarters. But she turned that around after halftime, making eight straight baskets in the Wildcats comeback.

The Gamecocks defeated Kentucky 73-62 on the road earlier this season. They're looking for their ninth win this season over a ranked opponent, a run that includes four wins over Top 10 teams. Both A'ja Wilson and Alaina Coates are averaging double figure points and rebounds against Top 25 opponents this season.

No. 3 Notre Dame 82, North Carolina State 46

Madison Cable matched her career-high with 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Notre Dame to a victory over North Carolina State.

The Wolfpack (16-7, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) couldn’t stop Cable early as she scored 13 of Notre Dame’s first 19 points and the Irish (22-1, 10-0) jumped to a 19-12 lead. Cable hit shots from the outside, scored on fast-break layups and was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.

The Irish broke the game open when Brianna Turner scored on back-to-back layups to spark a 12-0 run late in the third quarter. Cable capped the run when Turner jumped to catch a high pass under the basket and passed to Cable in the lane, who drove in afor a three-point play when she was fouled.

Miah Spencer led the Wolfpack with 13 points and Dominique Wilson had 11.

No. 7 Ohio State 87, Wisconsin 61

Ameryst Alston scored 21 points as Ohio State cruised to a victory over Wisconsin.

The Buckeyes (18-4, 10-1) took control late in the first quarter and never looked back as five players scored in double figures for coach Kevin McGuff’s team.

Shayla Cooper scored 16 points off the bench while Alexa Hart had 12 and Asia Doss had 11. Kelsey Mitchell, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, overcame a slow start to finish with 16 points.

Cooper, who sat out the previous game in what McGuff termed a coach’s decision, also had 10 rebounds against Wisconsin for her sixth double-double of the season.

Nicole Bauman led Wisconsin (6-15, 2-9) with 19 points while Cayla McMorris had 12 while Michala Johnson had 10.

Ohio State extended its winning streak to seven games while the Badgers lost for the seventh time in a row.

No. 13 Louisville 78, North Carolina 60

Mariya Moore scored 22 points, Asia Durr added 21 and Louisville rolled to a win over North Carolina.

Myisha Hines-Allen contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds as Louisville (18-5, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its win streak to 15. The Cardinals dominated at the foul line, hitting 19 for 22 compared with UNC’s 8 for 12.

Trailing 32-28 at the break, Louisville took the lead for good during an 8-0 burst that made it 50-46 with 4:22 left in the third quarter and included 3-pointers from Arica Carter and Moore.

The Tar Heels (12-12, 2-7) took the lead midway through the first quarter with a 6-0 spurt capped by Hillary Summers’ jumper to make it 16-11 and didn’t trail again until after the break.

Stephanie Watts led UNC with 16 points, Summers finished with 14 and 10 rebounds, and Destinee Walker had 12 points.

No. 23 Florida 83, No. 12 Texas A&M 81

Ronni Williams scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Florida held off Texas A&M.

Courtney Williams stole the ball for the Aggies with seven seconds left but Jordan Jones missed a shot at the buzzer.

Simone Westbrook added 15 points for the Gators (19-4, 7-3 SEC), who were coming off a win over then 12th-ranked Kentucky and had never beaten A&M.

Courtney Walker had a career-high 31 points for the Aggies (15-7, 5-4), who lost to No. 2 South Carolina on Monday.

The Aggies led 36-31 at the half and pushed it to eight at the 5:41 mark of the third quarter but Ronni Williams, who surpassed 500 career rebounds, scored 11 points as the Gators charged back to take a 65-60 lead.

Walker’s jumper pulled A&M within two but after a Florida turnover Courtney Williams missed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left. After a review, the ball went to Florida and Williams made another steal.

No. 16 Miami 67, Boston College 62

Jessica Thomas scored 14 points, Adrienne Motley added 13 and Miami beat Boston College.

The Hurricanes (19-4, 7-3 ACC) have won six of their last eight, and pulled into a fourth-place tie in the conference standings with North Carolina State (16-7, 7-3), which lost to Notre Dame.

Mariella Fasoula scored 19 points to lead the Eagles (13-9, 1-8).

No. 23 Tennessee 75, Arkansas 57

Mercedes Russell had 15 points and 11 rebounds as Tennessee defeated Arkansas to give Lady Volunteers coach Holly Warlick her 100th career victory.

Warlick improved her career record to 100-28 and became the 17th Division I women’s coach to earn 100 victories within her first four seasons.

Tennessee (14-8, 5-4 SEC) earned a measure of revenge after a 64-59 defeat at Arkansas on Jan. 14, the Lady Vols’ first loss to a team with a sub-.500 record since 1979.

Diamond DeShields ended her recent slump by scoring 15 points, Te’a Cooper had 13 points and Andraya Carter added 10. DeShields, the Lady Vols’ leading scorer, had a combined nine turnovers and five points in the two games leading up to this one.

Jessica Jackson scored 18 and Devin Cosper added 17 for Arkansas (9-14, 4-6), which lost its fourth straight.

Men

Vanderbilt 77, No. 8 Texas A&M 60

Jeff Roberson scored a career-high 20 points to help Vanderbilt upset Texas A&M for the Commodores’ first win over a ranked team in four years.

Vanderbilt (13-9, 5-4 SEC) had lost its previous 13 games against ranked opponents, including six this season. The Commodores last win over a ranked opponent was in 2012 when it upset No. 1 Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference tournament final.

Texas A&M (18-4, 7-2) lost for the second time in three games, including a 74-71 defeat at Arkansas on Jan. 27.

Wade Baldwin IV had 17 points, Luke Kornet 14 and Damian Jones 13 for Vanderbilt, which tied its season high with 13 3-pointers.

Tonny Trocha-Morelos led the Aggies with 13 points. Alex Caruso added 11 points. Danuel House scored 10. Jalen Jones, one of the nation’s top players, was held to four points as he missed 10 of his 11 shots.

No. 16 Oregon 76, Colorado 56

Elgin Cook scored 18 points and Chris Boucher had 12 rebounds and blocked six shots to lead Oregon to a victory over Colorado.

Tyler Dorsey added 13 points and Dwayne Benjamin had 11 for the Ducks (19-4, 8-2 Pac-12), who won their fifth straight and 21st consecutive home game for the second-longest streak in school history.

Josh Scott led the Buffaloes (17-6, 6-4) with 17 points, and George King had 16 and eight rebounds. Colorado had a 42-38 advantage on the boards.